(T/N): Hope you all enjoy reading this! Because I sure am... Also take this phainon photo
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Phainon felt as if his head had been run over by a train, not just once, but twice... As his consciousness returned, his mind was in chaos.
Then, there were voices.
"Look! His finger moved, is he about to wake up?" A girl's voice, clear and lively, echoed in his ears.
"March, step back." Another male voice spoke, cold, steady, with a hint of wariness.
"That's right, Pom-Pom, March passenger, he needs quiet rest now, Pom-Pom." Another soft, plush-like voice.
Phainon struggled to open his eyelids.
His vision was obstructed by a cold metal mask, allowing him only a glimpse of the outside through a narrow slit.
Suddenly, an overly delicate face leaned in close, pink hair almost brushing the mask, eyes filled with curiosity.
A bit further away, a black-haired young man stood, his gaze never leaving Phainon.
At their feet, a large lop-eared rabbit restlessly rubbed its tiny paws.
March 7th? Dan Heng? Pom-Pom?
Phainon completed the information match in an instant.
Right, it was the cosplay convention.
His name was Phainon, the same name as Phainon of Amphoreus, and even his appearance bore some resemblance.
He remembered wearing the Flame Reaver's cosplay outfit, attending the cosplay convention.
How did I suddenly faint? And why does my head hurt so much?
He subconsciously looked around; outside the window, the galaxy was ethereal, and the train car's furnishings were sci-fi.
In the distance, he could even see a massive Space Station?
Everything was unbelievably real.
This is the Astral Express?!
Have conventions become this elaborate now?
Not only are the character makeups comparable to in-game models, but even the scenes are replicated one-to-one?
Just as Phainon was about to prop himself up, the pink-haired girl leaned in again.
"Feeling better? How do you feel now?" she asked gently, "How did you end up sleeping on the Astral Express's tracks?"
Astral Express... tracks... What is she talking about?
Suddenly, an absurd guess surfaced in Phainon's mind.
Could it be that I transmigrated?
But the next moment, he dismissed the thought; this isn't a novel, where would so many transmigration plots come from?
Suddenly.
A ripple spread through Phainon's mind.
There was no mechanical prompt, only lines of cold text appearing before him:
Detection of keyword: Transmigration
Binding individual information... Binding complete
Name: Phainon
path: Destruction (inactive)
Warning: Detecting high-dimensional information resonance body... Amphoreus - Phainon
Warning! Warning! Immeasurable memory data streams are pouring in! This will cause irreversible and destructive impact on the sea of consciousness!
Loading 'Eternal Samsara' backup numbers 1 to 33,550,336...
The meaning of the text had not yet been fully understood.
"Ugh ah—!"
Phainon clutched his head tightly with both hands, letting out a painful roar.
This was not pain.
This was annihilation!
Thirty million cycles of Eternal Samsara's memories poured into his sea of consciousness, repeating different stories, but the same ending.
Slaying his closest friends, seizing the core flame, preventing re-creation.
His heart gradually went from heartache to numbness, like an emotionless executioner.
After a sigh, he had no choice but to continue forward.
The accumulation of core flames constantly burned within his body, every step he took would shatter him.
The overwhelming black tide, the promise at the end of the west wind, the pain of golden blood spilled, the journey of continuous loss, all crushed his soul again and again!
Until it turned to dust!
"Wh-wh-what's wrong with him?!" March 7th recoiled in fright, her small face pale, "It's over! Conductor! Did you really break his brain?!"
"Impossible, Pom-Pom!" Pom-Pom stomped his foot in agitation, sweat beading on his forehead, "Pom-Pom applied the emergency brakes immediately, the impact should have been very small, Pom-Pom?"
Dan Heng's expression was solemn, he tightened his grip on the Cloud-Piercer, and the spear body emitted a low hum.
"Something's not right," he said in a deep voice, "He doesn't look like he was injured from a collision... This aura is very bad."
Just then, the door to the guest room silently opened.
Welt Yang adjusted his glasses; a fleeting surge of extremely scorching energy had drawn him from the observation car.
And at this moment, Phainon's screams had already ceased.
It wasn't that the pain disappeared, but that the "I" who bore the pain had already died.
On the ruins of consciousness, a brand new "Phainon" quietly pieced itself together in a strange balance.
The liveliness, cheerfulness, and gentleness of his past life as a university student were long gone.
Phainon's world was left with only a dead silence.
His body was quietly changing; his black hair faded at a visible speed, turning completely white.
Beneath the mask, his black pupils were replaced by a deep ice-blue.
As a normal person, how could one not go mad after experiencing over thirty million cycles of reincarnation?
And he had gone mad, died, and finally returned to peace.
However, beneath the dead silence, a rage capable of incinerating the star sea was buried.
Antimatter Legion! Lord of Destruction! Destruction, Nanook!
Just wait... At the same time, the panel in his vision silently refreshed.
Name: Phainon
path: Destruction (Activated)
Authority: Can use all abilities of the Flame Reaver (??? )
Current Emotion: Temporarily stable (or perhaps just the calm before the storm)
Number of ignitable core flames: 0
All abilities of the Flame Reaver?
So, what exactly is my relationship with Phainon of Amphoreus?
And who am I now?
The past of reincarnation was too vast, diluting Phainon's memories from before his transmigration; he was somewhat lost, yet there were things he had to do in his heart.
Saving Amphoreus, bringing true destruction to Nanook, waiting for a grey hero... countless questions surfaced in his mind, yet they didn't stir a single ripple.
Phainon slowly sat upright.
It was just a simple movement, yet it made the atmosphere in the train car incredibly oppressive.
Welt Yang stepped forward; he most clearly felt the scorching pressure emanating from the masked man before him.
"Are you feeling better?" Welt asked tentatively.
Phainon nodded slightly, saying nothing more.
"Then..." Welt continued, his voice steady, "Can you tell me your name? And where are you from? Why did you appear on the Astral Express's star tracks?"
For a moment, the air solidified.
After a long pause, a deep voice came from beneath the mask.
"My name... should be... Phainon."
Upon hearing this, Welt Yang's pupils suddenly constricted; he gripped the handle of his cane, his knuckles turning white.
In other words, he was triggered.
That voice, that tone!
Though Welt didn't want to think in that direction, he felt that Phainon's words carried too many stories.
Without the accumulation of years, such a tone could not be learned.
The last time he heard it was on Earth.
It came from the strongest fusion warrior of the previous civilization, who bore the mark of salvation.
So... "Honkai... is still chasing me, damn it?"